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E39 (1997 - 2003) The BMW 5-Series (E39 chassis) was introduced in the United States as a 1997 model year car and lasted until the 2004 when the E60 chassis was released. The United States saw several variations including the 525i, 528i, 530i and 540i. -- View the E39 Wiki

Currently performing a transmission job and wanted to know if anyone who has removed their drive-shaft has come across this curiosity.

Basically in every picture of an installed guibo, I always see the bolts lined up in one direction which is towards the transmission.

However, when I removed my guibo, the bolts were in alternating directions with 3 pointed towards the engine and 3 pointed towards the rear of the car. I also noticed that they corresponded to these tiny arrows that were imprinted on the guibo itself and that these arrows were pointed in opposite direction to each other as they alternated.

For some perspective, I have never had any driveline issues and the guibo that I've removed (though OEM I think) is in perfect condition and I will not be replacing it.

My question is, does it matter what orientation the bolts are when installing the guibo?

Ok slightly muddy and fairly wet but I now know the guibo thing is installed correctly.

Climbed up under there the first time and saw an arrow on it and noted which way it was pointing. I then let the car down and go back in the house. After reading a good bit online I now know how it mounts.

Unfortunately I didnt note anything other than which direction it was facing. So I had to go back out there jack it up and climb back under again to use the new found knowledge to make sure it was really on there right.

Which way the arrows are pointed matters and doesnt matter

When I first read up on it the arrows were listed as "facing the transmissions flange" thus the arrow goes forward. Well thats actually not true.

What matters is the arrows are pointed to a flange point. Seems there are arrows forward AND backwards. Each arrows tip must be pointed at the flange your bolting to. So if the bolts going into the trans flange the arrow should be pointed at the trans. If its going into the drive shaft the arrow should be pointed at the back of the car.

Im sure some know this but I know this will get searched by people doing the swap one day and people going a guibo replacement so I figured Id spell it out.

Thanks - I was also going to ask about the dacromet washers and where they go. I will say this much the dacromet washers do absolutely nothing to prevent corrosion. In three of the six bolts (these would be the ones going through the transmission flange into the guibo), there was tons of corrosion.

I think for the sake of sanity (or to increase my insanity)...I'll take a picture of my guibo with all the bolts and washers installed, but sitting on my bench. I'll also provide some graphical representation of the orientation of the driveshaft and transmission and see if I've got this right before I install it.

Please read the suggested threads, where the best always add value to those threads, either by pictures or by descriptions, so the next person with the same problem stands on your shoulders.
See also: E39 Bestlinks & How to easily find what you need

thanks again for the help - was hoping for a lower torque value 74 ft-lbs is freeeakking a lot!! I did read up that these bolt grades do have markings on the head, so will double check when i get into it this afternoon.

Great info. now I can tackle this project with confidence. Thank you in-advance to all that participated on this thread. I'll post before and after picture from my 97 528i. Flex disk Guibo removal and replacement